With summer just around the corner, it’s a good time to brush up on how to choose a sunscreen. The Food and Drug Administration changed the requirements for sunscreen labels, so what this means for you, the savvy skin care consumer, is more information on how well a sunscreen protects your skin from that harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The three most important things to look for on the label are:
1. Broad-spectrum: this means protection against both UVA and UVB
2. SPF 30 or higher: this means Sun Protection Factor and measures the sunscreen’s ability to protect the skin from UVB
3. Water-resistant: this means that the sunscreen will stay on your skin for a little while even if your skin gets wet. You will also see either “40 minutes” or “80 minutes” which indicates how long your skin can be wet or sweaty before you need to reapply. In case you were wondering “waterproof” can no longer appear on the label because sunscreens aren’t really water- or sweat-proof.
The label will also tell you if the sunscreen will protect your skin against skin cancer, premature skin aging and sunburn, or just sunburn. Obviously, the best choice is going to be one that protects your skin from all 3! Lastly, don’t forget your lips and eyes-use a lip balm that is labeled “Broad-spectrum SPF 30″ and sunglasses that block 99-100% of UVR.
